Wind of Change
by novelist
Summary: Lizzie's world changes after her dad dies... Her mom gets pregnant. Can she accept a baby at first? *on hiatus*
1. Into: Wind of Change

A/N: This is my new story. Currently, the ending of "Take It To The Limit" is going on a short hiatus. I promise I will finish it in time. I just had this idea and had to start this story. I hope you enjoy this one as much as you did my other stories. This story is completely independent of the others and what ever happens in the LM movie didn't happen in my story. 

  


On that note.. This is my first attempt with the first person point of view. I don't switch POV's so it's always Lizzie talking.. so You know. 

  


Since that is done. 

  


Disclaimer: You know this is Disney's copyright, I am just borrowing the story line and characters. Don't be sending me no court invitations. I'm about $30,000 in the hole with med bills so you won't get no where. This story is currently PG13 for adult situations but is subject to change. 

  


This story was named after the song "Wind Of Change" by the Scorpions 

  


**Wind Of Change**

  


_"Take me to the magic of the moment  
On a glory night  
Where the children of tomorrow dream away  
In the wind of change."_

  


**Intro.**

  


"So, here I go. I hope I don't fall on my face." I smiled over at my mom who held my baby sister, Emmaline. She smiled and shook her blonde little head of thick curls, indicating that she wanted to get down. So on her feet she was put, where she ran to my side. I stooped to her level. 

  


"Lissie! Ya grad-ating?" Emmaline asked me in her little hushed tone. Her fists balled around the forgotten, but still claimed lollipop in her sticky little fingers. 

  


"Yep, Emmie. I'm graduating. Lizzie McGuire is graduating high school." I said as I stood up and picked her up. I swooped her around. Her bubbly laugh filled the air. When I put her down I saw Gordo looking on at us, trying not to interrupt the moment. It was time for us to go. 

  


But let me fill you in on a few things. A lot has changed. More then you could ever realize. To go back a little, I guess it really started the summer between my eighth grade and freshman year, when my dad died. A lot had changed. With Gordo too. His parents got divorced and his mom ended up moving to Hawaii of all places. 

  


Anyways, that's besides the point. However, my life didn't drastically change until two years after that, the summer before my junior year. The year that Emmaline was conceived. But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

  


My story starts off on the two year anniversary of my fathers death, when I overheard my mom. Come on, you know you want to know. But right now I have my graduation to go to. I'll tell you how _that_ goes once I give you the background. 

  


As Tigger says TTFN! (Ta Ta For Now) 

  


---------------

  


I know, not much. This is just an intro. I'm going to work on the first chapter so maybe I'll get it up either today, tonight or tomorrow. But for now, R/R? Please? Tell me what you think of the basic idea so far? 


	2. Chap One: Blowing

Disclaimer: You know this is Disney's copyright, I am just borrowing the story line and characters. Don't be sending me no court invitations. I'm about $30,000 in the hole with med bills so you won't get no where. This story is currently PG13 for adult situations but is subject to change. 

  


This story was named after the song "Wind Of Change" by the Scorpions 

  


**Wind Of Change**

  


_"The future's in the air  
I can feel it everywhere  
Blowing with the wind of change."_

  


**Chap. One: Blowing**

  


This day my mother had given Matt and I permission to skip school like we had every year since Dad died. Our ritual was that we woke up, dressed in mournful clothing, and visited Dad's grave. We each had our time to speak with him, telling of our lives so far. Then we left Mom at the grave as we went to the car. Every year she took about fifteen minutes and came to the car with red puffy eyes. This morning I drove. 

  


We would always come back to the house, and spend quality time playing family games and eating pizza. Since Dad died, Matt and I had learned not to complain about spending time together. In fact, it made us realize how important family was. Don't get me wrong, we still fought like cats and dogs; but at least we didn't act like we hated each other. 

  


These nights, we always went to bed early. I couldn't sleep, however. I mean, it was only seven o'clock. Somehow Matt had conned Mom into letting him buy a TV and put it in his room. So I did the only thing logical, I got up to go downstairs for a bite of cold pizza. 

  


When I got to the top of the stairs, I noticed that Moms door was open just a crack. I could hear her crying. I decided to check on her. As I opened the door, I remember seeing her on her window seat gazing out at the setting sky. 

  


"Sam. I'm so sorry." Mom confessed while she sobbed, "I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't mean to betray your love." she cried openly. I wondered what she was talking about. 

  


"But I love him, Sam. Is it too soon to be in love again?" she asked to the moon. "He asked me to marry him the other day. I told him I had a lot to think about. I don't want this baby to think that it's parents don't love it." she cried and started to get up. I quickly closed the door and headed back to my room, forgetting all about the cold pizza. 

  


A baby? Mom was pregnant? Who was the dad? A lot of questions ran through my mind. I didn't want to let Mom know that I had overheard such a private conversation with my dead father, but I couldn't help my curiosity. I was bursting at the seams with it. I wanted to know who Mom was in love with. 

  


For a brief moment I felt betrayed. Mom had been seeing someone, obviously. She hadn't told Matt or I. She was also pregnant. She didn't show so she was probably only a month or two along. That meant that in less then eight months, I would have a baby brother or sister. What was Mom thinking? 

  


I began thinking of all the different men that mom had come in contact with on a regular basis since Dad had died. The first one had been Dr. Gordon, but that was professional. My mom began seeing him when Dad died. After a month, Mom had decided to take a creative writing course in college. She had told me that writing was a creative outlet for her emotions. 

  


For a long time, every Tuesday had been coffee night. This fellow student came over to talk to mom and share coffee. He was younger then Mom by about ten years, but they seemed to enjoy each others company. That was probably the most logical, but he hadn't been around in a while. 

  


Then there was Mr. Miller. He was the unmarried hermit that lived across the street. He kept to himself most of the time but always came over to do things around the house that Dad used to do. 

  


None of them seemed like logical probabilities. Was Mom seeing someone else that she hadn't brought around the house? I decided then and there that I was going to do a little bit of research. 

  


I fell asleep that night, trying to devise a plan that would help me. I had to enlist Gordo and Miranda to help me find out. 

  


When I woke up the next morning, I called my two best friends. I had woken up Miranda who hadn't been happy about the interruption. Gordo had obviously been awake. They knew I was serious when I had told them to meet me at the Digital Bean. We never went to the Digital Bean unless it was important. We had out grown the pre-teen hang out shortly after our freshman year had started. 

  


"So what is this all about, McGuire." Gordo asked me as we took a seat. 

  


"Yeah. You woke me up at seven in the morning, Lizzie. _Seven!_ This better be good." Miranda informed me, her eyes droopy from waking up so early. It was summer, she had expected to sleep in. 

  


"It is important. I need you two to help me investigate something." I told them, watching for their reactions. 

  


"What now? It better not be like the time you enlisted us to spy on Ronny Jacobs when you thought he was cheating on you." Gordo said with a roll of his eyes. My freshman year brought Ronny Jacobs to my high school. We had started dating again. It had all ended up being a complete fiasco. I had turned out to be wrong. He had been spending time with his cousin, not a girlfriend. He ended up breaking up with me because I couldn't trust him. 

  


"Or when you made me dress up like a boy so we could spy on Gordo and Brooke!" Miranda added in. "I am not going to dress up like a boy." she shook her head at the thought. 

  


"Guys, it's nothing like that." I told them, "My mom is seeing someone. She didn't tell either Matt and I." I sighed. 

  


"What makes you think that your mom is seeing someone. She still cries over your dad. You are probably imagining things." Gordo concluded. 

  


"I wish I was Gordo. I heard her with my own ears. She was talking to 'Dad' last night and I overheard her. And that's not even the biggest thing. She's in love and she's pregnant." I told them. They looked up at me, their eyes wide. 

  


"Are you sure about this, Lizzie? Maybe you heard her wrong." Miranda told me. 

  


"Guys, I didn't imagine this. I didn't hear it wrong. She is pregnant and whoever the father is, asked my mom to marry them!" I exclaimed. I was exasperated that my two best friends were so skeptical. 

  


"Okay, okay." Gordo said as he held up his hands in defeat. "We'll help you but what do you want us to do?" Gordo asked. 

  


"We have to spy on my mom to find out who she is seeing." I explained. 

  


"Who are our prospective suspects?" Miranda then asked, that sparkle glowing in her eyes, mischievously. 

  


"Mr. Miller, the guy across the street. This guy named Mike who had classes with my mom and used to come over for coffee. And," I paused and looked at Gordo. Our eyes met. He knew who the last one was. 

  


"You think my father is seeing your mom?" Gordo asked incredulously. 

  


"I don't think she is seeing any of the guys that I mentioned. I'm just not leaving anyone out no matter what. You can understand that." I pleaded to Gordo. 

  


"Okay, you are right. So what do we do?" Gordo relented. 

  


"Gordo. I want you to spy on my mom's therapy sessions with your dad." I told him. 

  


"Do you know how much trouble I can get in for this, McGuire? I don't want to be sent to Hawaii to live with my mom and my dad said that if he couldn't handle me, then he would send me to her." Gordo sighed. I knew and he knew that he would do it anyway. 

  


"I'll owe you big!" I promised him. 

  


"Very big." he agreed. 

  


"So what do I do?" Miranda asked. 

  


"You are going to follow my mom when she gets out of the house, see where she goes and who she sees." I told Miranda. 

  


"Are we going to do everything for you?" Miranda asked, not seeing how there could be anything left to do. 

  


"Of course not!" I scoffed at her. "Mine is also very dangerous guys. I'm going to snoop in my mom's stuff while she is out of the house. That is also why I need your help. I need you to call me and tell me when she is on her way home. I can't do it without you. Gordo, you need to make sure Matt stays away from the house while I'm doing this. I can't let him know what I'm up to or he will cause more then enough trouble." I told them, the plan coming to a close. 

  


"I see what you mean. That would get us all in trouble, but you the most." Gordo sighed. I could tell he knew it would not be easy to pull off. 

  


"So are you guys in or what?" I asked them, looking back and forth. I was pretty sure I had them, but you never can be one hundred percent sure about anything. 

  


"You got me." Gordo smiled at me while Miranda just nodded vigorously. 


	3. Chap Two: Stormwind

Disclaimer: You know this is Disney's copyright, I am just borrowing the story line and characters. Don't be sending me no court invitations. I'm about $30,000 in the hole with med bills so you won't get no where. This story is currently PG13 for adult situations but is subject to change. 

  


This story was named after the song "Wind Of Change" by the Scorpions 

  


**Wind of Change**

  


_"The wind of change blows straight   
Into the face of time  
Like a stormwind that will ring."_

  


**Chap. Two: Stormwind**

  


So I bet you are wondering what happened next, right? Well, Mom didn't have another therapy meeting with Dr. Gordon till Friday and it was only Monday. Since it was summer, we didn't have to worry about school getting in the way. We didn't, however, want to seem suspicious by hanging around the house all day so we sometimes opted for laying out in the sun as well as hiding down the street in the bushes. Low, I know. But since my street was a dead end street, I didn't have to worry about Mom going in the opposite direction. 

  


Mom didn't go anywhere except the store until Wednesday, much to my chagrin. When she did leave, we found out that my mom had started meeting Mike on Wednesdays at a little cafe just out of town. That was a little suspicious. For the first Wednesday, we didn't know how to get into the cafe without Mom noticing Miranda. It would be a little suspicious if Miranda went into the cafe. It would be a little more then a coincidence. I had been sure I knew why Mom was meeting Mike out of town. 

  


So I kept up my part of the bargain, and searched through Mom's room. I didn't have to worry about Matt because his friend Lanny had invited him along for a day trip to an amusement park with his family. With both Matt and Mom gone it was the ideal time to look through Moms rooms for any clue. 

  


"So how is the search going?" Miranda asked me on the phone. Gordo was the only one of us who had a cell phone and had let Miranda borrow it for this exact reason. 

  


"I haven't found anything yet. I'm looking through the bills. I don't know what I'm looking for but I guess I'll know when I find it." I replied, the phone between my ear and shoulder. 

  


"Well, you have to hurry up. They are getting in their cars. It's only a five minute drive back to your house from here." Miranda told me. 

  


"Tell me when you get close to the street. I need all the time I can to find something." I said as I rifled through more and more bills. 

  


"Well, I think it is Mike. They didn't even hug or anything, but I think your mom wants to keep things on the down-low." Miranda suggested. 

  


"Right now, Mike is the only one who seems to be a possibility and it is suspicious that she has been sneaking off to see him out of town non the less." I agreed with her. It was, indeed, very suspicious. 

  


Miranda and I continued to talk while I continued to search. Just as I picked up a doctors bill, Miranda started to panic. "Lizzie, your mom just saw me following her!" Miranda told me. "She's almost home. I'm going to go to your house so it seems like I was coming over." 

  


"I hope she buys it, Miranda. But I found something. I'll talk to you about it when you get here. Bye." I hung up the phone before she could respond. I quickly began to put Mom's bills in their rightful places when I heard a car door. Then another. I hoped Miranda stalled while I continued to put the evidence of my snooping away. 

  


Just as I closed the last file draw, I heard the front door open, followed by Miranda and Mom's voices. If I tried to leave her room, she would see me. I waited and listened to the conversation. 

  


"Oh, I was coming back from dropping Lily off at her friends house that lives out on Second Ave. That's why it seemed like I was following you, we were just headed to the same destination." Miranda was telling her. I'm so lucky that I have friends who can think on their feet. 

  


"I guess that makes sense." Mom replied. I could hear the suspicion in her voice. Or was that nerves? "Lizzie! Miranda's here!" my mom called up to me. What was I going to do? I couldn't respond and I couldn't come out of my mom's room. They were still standing at the bottom of the stairs. 

  


"Hmm, maybe she isn't here. Lets go into the kitchen and I'll wait for her to get home, Ms. McGuire." Miranda told Mom as they made their way to the kitchen. I took in a deep breath. I hadn't realized I'd been holding it. 

  


I quietly opened the door and peaked out to make sure no one could see me. I then walked down the stairs and toward the kitchen, wondering what I was going to tell my mom for not answering when she yelled up at me. 

  


"Oh, Mom I didn't know you were home yet. Hi Miranda." I greeted her as if I hadn't known she was here. I was such a bad liar. 

  


"Sweetie, I yelled up to you that Miranda was here. Did you just get home? I thought I saw your car in the driveway." Mom looked at me. She had that 'I'm know you are up to something' look. I began thinking. I could feel the sweat on my brow. 

  


"It was in the driveway, Mom. I was upstairs with my headphones on. I didn't hear you." I lied. Hey, that wasn't that bad. Maybe I was getting better at this. Then again, maybe the fear of getting caught had scared the liar into me. Miranda looked surprised at the ease in my lie. 

  


"Well, that makes sense. Lizzie, dinner will be ready in about an hour. That's when I expect Matt home. Miranda, will you be staying?" Mom asked looking at Miranda. 

  


"Um, sure Ms. McGuire." Miranda said. We both took that as our cue to exit. 

  


"We are going to go over to Gordo's for awhile, Mom. We'll be back for supper." I told her and left without an answer. We headed toward Miranda's car, anxious to get out of the house as quick as we could. 

  


"You drive. My stomach is in knots. That was too close, Lizzie." Miranda told me as she handed me her key's. I didn't worry about driving, I had driven Miranda's car lots of times. I had my license longer then she did and she often got nervous about driving herself. She only drove when she had to anyway. 

  


We climbed into the car and shut the doors. I put the key in the ignition and started the car. "We have to be more careful next time." I told Miranda as I backed out of the driveway. 

  


"There is going to be a next time?" Miranda asked, worry written all over her face. 

  


"Miranda, I have to find this out. It doesn't just involve my mom. It involves myself and Matt as well as the new baby." I told her. I don't know where I had gotten the feeling that it was my responsibility to find out, but I felt it strongly. It was more then a curiosity now. I couldn't just drop it now. 

  


"You know, your mom will have to tell you sooner or later anyway. Then you can ask her who the father is." Miranda told me, trying to get me to back down from my mission. I was too stubborn though. 

  


"She'll have to tell me sooner then we thought." I replied as I kept my eye on the road. It was only a short distance to Gordo's house so we were almost there. 

  


"What do you mean?" Miranda asked. I could feel her eyes on me, boring holes through my head. 

  


"I'll tell you when we get to Gordo's." I replied simply. Miranda only kept her mouth shut this time. Soon, I pulled into the Gordon's driveway and shut off Miranda's car. Slowly we descended the walkway that led to the front door. I reached out and rang the door bell. Eventually, Dr. Gordon answered and let us in. 

  


"Lizzie, Miranda." Gordo greeted us, putting his current novel down on his desk and getting up. 

  


"Hi Gordo." I replied. Miranda stood, quietly looking at her feet. 

  


"So, how did it go?" he asked anxiously, referring to step one of my mission. 

  


"It was close." I told him. "We found out that my mom has been meeting Mike at a cafe just out of town." 

  


"Well that's suspicious. Do you think it's him?" Gordo asked. 

  


"Right now, he's the only one who has evidence against him but we still don't have any evidence that it is true, just evidence that makes him look suspicious." I said, sitting down on Gordo's bed. "I did find something though." 

  


At that Miranda perked up. I had both of their attention now. I fished into my pocket and pulled out a photo copied version of the paper I had found. 

  


"The estimated conception date is Mid-March." I told them as I handed them the paper to inspect. "That means she is already close to three months along." I concluded looking at them. 

  


"Then why don't you drop this, Lizzie? She'll have to tell you soon. She can't hid it forever." Miranda told me. Gordo just nodded in agreement, still taking everything in. 

  


"I can't. My mom has been hiding stuff from Matt and I. Important stuff. Doesn't she care about our feelings?" I sounded selfish, I knew. I just couldn't imagine why my mom would keep something like this. We would be having a new brother or sister in about six months and she didn't feel the need to tell us? 

  


Friday came and went. I had tried calling Gordo on his cell phone but only got his voice mail. When I tried calling his home phone and explaining to Dr. Gordon that I couldn't reach him, he told me that Gordo had left the house several hours ago. He thought that Gordo had left to hang out with Miranda and I. I thanked him and hung up the phone. 

  


That's weird. Where was Gordo? Was he avoiding me? What happened that caused him to avoid me? I could only wonder. I picked up my phone and called Miranda. 

  


"Miranda. Have you heard from Gordo?" I asked as soon as she answered. 

  


"No. Why, is he missing?" Miranda asked, concern in her voice. It was not like Gordo to go somewhere without him telling Miranda and I first. He told us everything. Gordo had always been the predictable one. 

  


I explained to Miranda my efforts in tracking down Gordo for the information. She was as perplexed as I was. 

  


"That's weird. You don't think he found out something bad do you?" Miranda asked as my call waiting beeped. 

  


"I don't know. I have another call. Hope it's Gordo." I told her. 

  


"I'm crossing my fingers." she replied as we hung up. 

  


"Hello?" I answered. 

  


"We need to talk. Meet me at the Digital Bean in ten." Gordo said and hung up. 

  


I wondered what was wrong. Gordo was serious if he wanted to meet me at the Digital Bean. It had officially become our meeting place ever since Dad had died and Gordo's parents had divorced. Any time we needed to have a serious talk, we went there. It had been a place of comfort and youth and a place we knew no one would look for us at. 

  


I quickly grabbed my car keys and told Mom I was going out. I continued to wonder nervously as I drove to the hang out. I pulled in and noticed that Gordo was already there. He had probably called me on his cell phone from the Digital Bean. In fact, he had probably been there all along knowing that we wouldn't think to look there for him. In a weird way, that was almost predictable, but still not an obvious option. 

  


I made my way over to our usual table, in the back for privacy. I sat down and looked at Gordo. We said nothing as a waitress took my drink order. We had begun a staring contest. I had been trying to see what he was thinking but his expression was hard and unreadable. As soon as I had received my drink and the waitress left us, Gordo said what I would have never expected him to say. 

  


"Your mom is pregnant with my dad's baby." 

  


WHAT?! 


	4. Chap Three: So Close

Disclaimer: You know this is Disney's copyright, I am just borrowing the story line and characters. Don't be sending me no court invitations. I'm about $30,000 in the hole with med bills so you won't get no where. This story is currently PG13 for adult situations but is subject to change. 

  


This story was named after the song "Wind Of Change" by the Scorpions 

  


**Wind of Change**

  


_"The world is closing in  
Did you ever think  
That we could be so close, like brothers "_

  


**Chap. Three: So Close**

  


I just stared at Gordo, open mouthed. I couldn't comprehend what he had just told me. Sure, I had considered the possibility but I had practically thrown it out the window as soon as I had thought it. I only asked Gordo to spy on the sessions in hopes that Mom would spill on who the father was. In hopes she would shed some light. I didn't expect Gordo to find out that it was also his brother or sister that Mom was carrying. 

  


"What?" I asked, dumbly, as if I hadn't heard a word he had said. He knew better. He knew that I had heard him perfectly fine. 

  


"That's what I said when I found out. I would have listened longer, Lizzie. I'm sorry. My mind had just gone on overload." Gordo was now looking at his hands as he played with the napkin that his drink sat on. 

  


"It. It's ok, Gordo. I would have done the same." I thought for a while. The silence was neither awkward or comfortable. It just was. 

  


"My father asked me if I would mind moving a while back." Gordo admitted. 

  


"Move? What?" I asked, confused. What does moving have to do with this? Dr. Gordon had asked Mom to marry him, right? Would that mean I would have to move if Mom said yes? 

  


"Not out of state, Lizzie." Gordo said as if it was plain as day. "Into a new house in the area. My guess is that if your mom said yes to his proposal, he'd want to start new." he explained his theory. 

  


"Oh." was all I was able to say. I took a small drink, soaking in the new information. "What did you tell him?" 

  


"I told him I wouldn't mind. Truth is, it's lonely in that big house. It reminds me of all the fights my parents used to have." he told me, reluctantly. 

  


"So what do we do now?" I asked softly. 

  


"I don't know." he replied just as soft. "If your mom says yes, we will probably end up living together." 

  


I thought about that for a moment. On one hand, the whole brother-sister thing would be weird. But on the other hand, Gordo was my best friend. I would be living with my best friend. This could be fun. Family outings would be fun. "I guess if I have to have a step-brother, you would be the best one to have." I smiled lightly. 

  


"I guess there could be some advantages to living together." he agreed, also smiling. 

  


"You do realize what this means, don't you?" I asked him after a minute, my smile fading from my face. 

  


"What?" Gordo looked at me as if I grew two heads. I could only guess that the look on my face showed pure disgust. 

  


"Our parents had sex." 

  


Gordo groaned. "Please, I don't even want to think about that." his face turned a greenish tint that made me laugh. "That's why they have been hiding this. They don't want us upset. They think that we won't like the idea of them getting married." 

  


"Do we like the idea of them getting married?" I asked. I never, in one million years _ever_ thought that Gordo and I would have to talk about this. 

  


"Will it really change that much, for the worse?" he asked. "I mean, we get to live together. We will have a new baby brother or sister in six months. We will be able to each other with our homework at any time. We can team up on Matt." he and I shared a grin at that. "The only thing that could really happen between you and I is that we become better, closer friends." he reasoned. 

  


He had a point. "I guess it wouldn't be so bad." I teased him and he reached over and pushed me lightly. We laughed together for a short moment. It was one of those laughs that broke the tension and worry but wasn't exactly heart felt. It still felt good to laugh though. 

  


"What are we going to tell Miranda?" Gordo asked suddenly. 

  


"Miranda. I forgot about her. She still thinks you are missing!" I exclaimed. 

  


"Should I call her?" he asked, taking out his cell phone. 

  


"Yeah, tell her we are coming over. We can figure out what to tell her on the way." I told him. 

  


"Works for me." he said as he flipped his phone open and dialed Miranda's private number. "Miranda? Yeah, I'm fine. Lizzie and I will be right over. We have something to tell you." there was a short pause as I could hear Miranda yelling about something. "Miranda! I'm hanging up. See you in a few." and he flipped his phone closed. 

  


"What was she yelling about?" I asked him. 

  


"She's mad that we didn't include her in on our conversation before. She had called your mom and then you turned up missing. She was worried." Gordo told me as we stood up and walked over to the till to pay for our drinks. 

  


"Oops, I guess we should have called her when I got here." I shrugged. "Are we going to take both cars?" I asked looking back and forth between our cars. 

  


"No, we still have to talk about what we are going to tell Miranda, lets take mine." he said pulling out his key's and heading over to his car. I followed. 

  


"Good point." I told him as he unlocked the car and we got in. He started the ignition and we were on our way. 

  


"So what _are_ we going to tell Miranda?" he asked me. 

  


"The truth? I mean, I've been so mad about my mom hiding stuff from Matt and I. I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't tell her. As much as it may not seem to affect Miranda, it might." I told him, honestly. 

  


"Now you have the good point." he replied. 

  


The rest of the ride was quiet. I can't say that I wasn't nervous about how Miranda would react. She was already mad at us for not including her in on this. I guessed that we could tell her that it was family business. The truth was, even if Mom chose not to marry Dr. Gordon, the baby would still be Gordo's sibling as much as it would be mine. In a weird way, we were already family. That didn't help the butterflies in my stomach though. 

  


Gordo pulled into Miranda's driveway and turned off the ignition. We sat in silence for a minute. I guessed Gordo was trying to calm his nerves like I was. Reluctantly, we got out. We stood in front of her door for several moments, both too nervous to ring the doorbell. Gordo grabbed my hand and squeezed it, giving me a small, nervous smile. I reached out and rang the doorbell as Gordo released my hand. 

  


Fortunately, Miranda had decided to go in her back yard so that we would have more privacy. We didn't want her sister, Lily, to overhear anything and repeat it. That could only mean trouble. 

  


"So guys, obviously you found something out." Miranda was calmer then I thought she would be. It made things a little easier. Very little. 

  


"Something big." Gordo told her. His voice was shaky and it looked like he was about to cry at any moment. 

  


"So? What is it?" Miranda asked us, looking between us. She could read our nervous glances. 

  


"Let's put it this way," I began, unsteadily. Once again, Gordo grabbed my hand. A gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Miranda. "The baby will also be Gordo's sibling." I told her. We waited several minutes for Miranda to react. 

  


"This is great guys!" Miranda suddenly exclaimed. Her smile was wide. Gordo laughed in reaction to her excited nature. "You two will be brother and sister!" 

  


"Step brother and sister. If they chose to get married." Gordo corrected. 

  


Miranda rolled her eyes. "Whatever. The point is, you two will end up living together. Lizzie, if I sleep over, all three of us can hang!" she exclaimed again. Growing even more excited. What can I say, her mood was infectious. I couldn't help but smile. 

  


"I hadn't thought about that." I grew serious again, however. "We just didn't want you to feel left out. Regardless of what they decide to do, Gordo and I are already family. We will already share the connection of a brother or sister." I watched as Miranda's face fell slightly. I could tell that she hadn't thought about that. 

  


"Well, we will still be best friends, right?" Miranda asked, looking down slightly. 

  


"Of course. This doesn't change how we feel about you, Miranda." Gordo spoke up. He reached forward and hugged Miranda. Soon we were in a group hug. We talked for a short while before Gordo drove back to the Digital Bean so I could retrieve my car. 

  


"I'll call you later." Gordo told me as I got out of his car. 

  


I smiled at him and shut the door. Before I knew it, I was home and eating dinner with Mom and Matt. The dinner was oddly quiet. Mom seemed nervous about something. Matt had been sunburnt pretty badly so he was in no mood to talk. I was quiet for my own obvious reasons. 

  


"Matt, Lizzie?" Mom asked, getting our attention. "Dr. Gordon and Gordo will be having dinner with us tomorrow night. Is that okay with you?" she looked between us. I had to act natural. I couldn't screw this up. 

  


"Sure." I told her. Matt only nodded his approval. It was agreed. The Gordon's would be joining us for dinner tomorrow. 

  


As soon as I was done eating, I excused myself and went up to my room. Just as I entered, my phone rang. I knew it was Gordo. He had probably been told the same exact thing I was told and wanted to confirm if Mom told us. 

  


"Hi Gordo." I told him as I picked up the phone. 

  


"I take it, by your knowing it was me, that your mom told you what my father told me during dinner." came his voice. 

  


"That we will be having dinner together tomorrow?" I asked, already knowing the answer. 

  


I could almost hear him nod on the phone. "Yeah." 

  


"Do you think they are going to tell us, or is this a test to see how we act at a 'family' dinner?" I asked him for his opinion. 

  


"I think that they are going to tell us. My father was way too nervous for it to just be an observation." Gordo told me. 

  


"Mom was nervous, too." I admitted. "So how are we going to act when they tell us? I don't think I could fake acting shocked, since I know too much already." I explained to him. 

  


"Can you act happy about it? We already decided that we liked the idea of living together. If we act happy about it, it may take some stress off of them." he pointed out. 

  


"True. I guess I could do that." I agreed. We talked for a while and then retired for the night. It was getting late and I was anxious about tomorrow. What would happen tomorrow, I wondered? 


End file.
